Child rape case roils Saudis

The conflicts at the heart of the Saudi Arabian judicial system came to light this week over attempts to release a controversial cleric convicted of torturing, raping and killing his 5-year-old daughter. The ensuing public debate reveals deep schisms in Saudi society, particularly where women and children are concerned.

Fayhan al-Ghamdi was arrested after his daughter, Lama al-Ghamdi, arrived at a hospital with severe head and body injuries. It was determined that she had been repeatedly raped. When asked how he could treat his own daughter is such a cruel fashion, al-Ghamdi said that he beat her after he began to doubt that Lama was still a virgin.

Lama's mother, who is divorced from the father, is campaigning to have her ex-husband executed, which she argues is the proper Islamic punishment for his crime. Unfortunately, Fayhan al-Ghamdi has a significant following in the kingdom due to his frequent appearances on television, where he holds himself out as an expert of religious law and practices.

Reports began circulating this month that al-Ghamdi was being released after paying so-called “blood money” to Lama's mother, amounting to approximately $50,000. The judge overseeing the case was reported as saying that such payment was adequate to see the cleric released from jail. This news quickly generated anger among many Saudis.

Surprisingly, given the traditional close coordination between the religious establishment and the civil government, the Justice Ministry quickly intervened, stressing that al-Ghamdi was still in custody.

Widespread outrage over Lama's brutal death has been building, and the Saudi royal family is clearly not entirely deaf to public opinion. Indeed, other reports claimed that the case against the cleric is actually still open and that his ex-wife intends to testify against him, in order to push for a more stringent penalty. Even if it is unlikely that al-Ghamdi will be given the death penalty, public sentiment is demanding much harsher treatment.

The rights of women continue to be a hot-button issue in the kingdom. While King Abdullah is making some measureable progress on women's rights, through increased educational, employment and travel opportunities, the extremely conservative religious institutions in his country regularly impede his progress.

Critics contend that Lama's fate was a direct result of Saudi Arabia's lack of meaningful laws to protect women and children from abuse, as well as the unwillingness of officials to conduct investigations and prosecute cases that are controversial and embarrassing to the clerical establishment. However, the mere fact that this emotional debate has broken through to the international media is a powerful sign of how these issues generate intense interest and concern among Saudis.

Dissent in Saudi Arabia has always been a very tricky business.

Much press has been given to King Abdullah's recent appointment of 30 women to the Shura Council, the top advisory body in this absolute monarchy. Of course, as has been seen in many countries many times before, the daily realities of working-class women, who must fight their battles for equality and personal safety from a position of grinding poverty, is in many ways largely unrelated to the advancement of a handful of elites into limited positions of influence and affluence.

It is important to understand clearly Saudi Arabia's unique position regarding women's rights. No other country, arguably, restricts women to quite the same degree. Not Iran, not North Korea. In fact, no other Muslim country places the same comprehensive and systematic legal limitations on women as does Saudi Arabia. Whatever religious ideas purport to motivate the prohibition on women driving, or doing everyday tasks, like working or traveling without a man's consent, such notions do not hold sway for hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world. They are unique to Saudi Arabia.

Importantly, al-Ghamdi's brutalization of Lama was not the result of a religious decision. He acted out of anger, which the law is duty-bound to punish.

Watching the Saudi government respond, and the upwelling of public anger against this atrocity, may be an encouraging sign that the country is progressing towards a level of public discourse that will allow it to better adapt to the modern world. Saudi Arabia faces many challenges, and its poorest citizens suffer disproportionately from the rigid rules enforced by conservative clerics.

Lama's tragic fate is just one example of the heart-wrenching consequences of the status quo. Hopefully, as the country struggles to address this crime, and the circumstances that allowed it to happen, Lama's suffering may ultimately have some positive consequence after all.

Of course, this would be of little consolation to her grieving mother. Hopefully, Saudi officials will take the necessary steps to ensure that there are no more Lamas, and that women, young and old, are protected, not by isolating them from society, but by empowering them within their society.

Writer and attorney Timothy Spangler divides his time between Orange County and